‘Dubious pleas’ for funds
Schools struggling to make ends meet are caught masking voluntary donations as school fees. Laura Walters investigates why schools feel they must rely on these donations ands why Labour says things aren’t going to get any better under proposed funding cha
A Christchurch school is among 10 warned by the Ministry of Education this year for masking voluntary donations as school fees.
Emails show the ministry received the parent complaints between January and July. It has offered advice to the 10 offending schools.
The schools singled out were Christchurch’s Cobham Intermediate School, Havelock North High School, Palmerston North Boys’ High School, Queen Elizabeth College in Palmerston North, Wellington’s St Patrick’s College, Tauranga Intermediate, Tauranga Boys’ College, Mount Maunganui College, Palmerston North’s Te Kura Kaupara Maori o Manawatu and Wairarapa College.
The cost of putting a child through school is now estimated at more than $35,000.
In a letter sent home earlier this year, Palmerston North Boys’ High School rector David Bovey said his school ‘‘relies on donations to do the job we do’’.
‘‘We could not exist in our current form on the Ministry of Education Operation Grant. Thus, we really do rely on the goodwill of parents to support what we do.’’
The plea to parents from the decile 8 state school sits at the bottom of an invoice sent home in March.
Included in the breakdown of costs is a PTA donation of $20, an Old Boys’ Association Subscription of $20, and a ‘‘General Education Donation’’ of $330 per student.
After being warned, the school has changed the way it asks for the money but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop asking parents to dig into their pockets.
Bovey said some families struggled to keep up with school costs but the ‘‘ideal’’ of a free education was no longer realistic.
The perception money from donations was used for ‘‘luxuries’’ or ‘‘put away in a tin for a rainy day’’ was incorrect. ‘‘They’re used to make a school function.’’
Schools across the country say they’re under financial pressure, and while the Government has proposed changes to its funding model it won’t necessarily mean more money for schools.
The Palmerston North high school was also caught trying to withhold the school magazine unless the ‘‘voluntary’’ fees were paid – a common policy among high schools.
Tauranga Boys’ College principal Robert Mangan said the school was ‘‘very dependent’’ on parents donations but planned to change the wording in its curriculum book to clarify what costs were voluntary to bring it in line with the law.
Like PNBHS, the school offers its magazine free to families who pay the donation, and plans to continue doing so.
Meanwhile, Tauranga Intermediate continues to refer to voluntary curriculum-related costs, like library and internet costs, as fees despite being told to change the wording.
The school did not respond to requests for comment.
Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Kim Shannon said government funding for schools had increased every year since 2008, while donation revenue remained relatively flat.
‘‘The vast majority of our schools deliver our world-beating curriculum within their budgets and do it well.’’
But it was not uncommon for schools to ‘‘misinterpret’’ the rules relating to voluntary donations, fees and charges, she said.
Post Primary Teachers Association head Angela Roberts said despite what the ministry claimed, its operational funding was insufficient.